Device for making electrical connections



May 10, 1966 R. A. LONG DEVICE FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS ori inal Filed Aug. 1, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 10, 1966 R. A. LONG DEVICE FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Aug.

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May 10, 1966 R. A. LONG 3,249,992

DEVICE FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Original Filed Aug. 1, 1963 e Sheets-Sheet 4 May 10, 1966 R. A. LONG 3,249,992

DEVICE FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Original Filed Aug. 1, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 May 10, 1966 R. A. LONG DEVICE FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Original Filed Aug.

f L x 0 7w 19% f; AXU L- a 20 a a V, a a a a VV. m O 7 1w AAW 2 77 "E 2: 02 W m rm; 1M 0M on 9 VP NDU 7 IF I .j. ET. M 1 xi i i 9 P 5:5 F 02 L: I S: m @f n United States Patent 3,249,992 DEVICE FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Robert Alvin Long, Harrisburg, Pa., assignor to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Continuation of abandoned application Ser. No. 299,377, Aug. 1, 1963. This application Apr. 23, 1965, Ser. No.

9 Claims. (C1. 29-203 This application is a continuation of application, Serial No. 299,377, filed August 1, 1963, now abandoned.

This invention relates to apparatus for electrically connecting a wire to a terminal post.

The co-pending application of Robert 'F. Cobaugh, Serial Number 171,074, filed February 5, 1962, for Electrical Connection, discloses a method and apparatus for electrically connecting a wire to a terminal post by means of an open-sided clip which is adapted to embrace the post and to hold the wire against the surface of the post. The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for making electrical connections in accordance with the principles of application Serial Number 171,074.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for electrically connecting a wire to a terminal post by means of an open-sided clip which is adapted to hold the wire against a surface of a post. A further object is to provide an apparatus for applying terminal clips to terminal posts having improved means for feeding the terminal clips. A further object is to provide a hand tool for applying terminal clips to terminal posts having improved means for feeding terminals in strip form, for severing the leading terminal from the strip, and applying the leading terminal to the post. A further object is to provide an improved feeding mechanism for terminal clips in strip form which is use-able in power actuated hand tools as well as in manually actuated tools.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in one embodiment comprising a mandrel which is adapted to be positioned against the end of a terminal post and over which a terminal clip is adapted to be moved onto the terminal post. A recess is provided in the mandrel for reception of the end of the wire and a clip is fed over the mandrel and onto the post. The terminal clip drags the end of the wire over the mandrel surface and over the surface of the post so that when the clip comes to rest, it holds the wire against the surface of the post. The individual clips are moved onto the post by means of a reciprocable push rod or plunger which is channel-shaped in cross section. A strip of clips is fed between the sidewalls of a channel-shaped push rod and the push rod has a pawl or finger on its leading end which is adapted to engage a projection on the leading clip of the strip. As the push rod moves over the mandrel and onto the terminal post it advances the strip of terminals in the direction of its movement. A detent type stop engages the clip which is next adjacent to the leading terminal clip during movement of the push rod thereby preventing movement of the push rod of this next adjacent clip and the remainder of the strip of terminal clips. As a result, the leading clip is severed from the strip of clips by the force exerted on this leading clip by the push rod. After severing of the leading clip of the strip, it is moved past the wire, over the mandrel, and onto the post while the remaining section of the strip is held against movement by the stop.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a hand tool incorporating the principles of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional side view showing the forward end of the tool of FIGURE 1 with the parts in the posi- FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the positions of theparts at an intermediate stage of the FIGURE 5 is a sectional side view, taken along the lines.55 of FIGURE 9, of the rearward end of the tool of FIGURE 5 showing the normal positions of the parts which they occupy at the beginning of the stroke.

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the positions of the parts in the rearward end of the tool at the intermediate stage of the cycle corrwponding to the positions of the parts as shown in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the positions of the parts at the end-s of the forward stroke of the clip pusher and corresponding to the positions of the parts as shown in FIGURE 4.

FIGURES 8 and 9 are sectional views taken lines 88 and 99 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURES 10 and 11 are transverse sectional views taken along the lines 10'10 and 11-11 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view taken along the lines 12-12 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 13 is a perspective view of the leading end of the clip pusher.

FIGURE 14 is a perspective view of the mandrel mounted in the forward end of the tool.

FIGURE 15 is a perspective view of a short section of end-to-end connected terminal clips.

FIGURE 16 is a view showing the individual wire connected to a terminal post by means of a terminal clip.

Referring first to FIGURES 15 and 16, in accordance with the above-identified application Serial Number 171,-

along the 074, a wire 16 is electrically connected to a terminal post 12 by means of a clip 2 which is advantageously manufactured in end-to-end strip form from strip metal stock. Each clip has a web portion 4 and has sidewalls at 6 being reversely curled towards each other and towards cupped insulation support 10 on one end of the Web.

This insulation support projects beyond the surface of the Web and provides a shoulder which is utilized in the practice of the present invention for feeding the strip of clips as is described below.

Turning now to FIGURES 1, 5, and 10, a preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a pistol grip type manually actuated hand tool having a pair of interfitting housing members 18, 20. At its lefthand end, as viewed in FIGURE 1, the outer housing member 18 is of U-shaped cross section and has a top side 22 from which a pair of sidewalls 24 depend. Intermediate its ends, a handle portion 26 extends from the sidewalls 24 while at its rearward end the outer housing 18 is of rectangular cross section having a top side 32, sidewalls 34, and a lower side 36. It will be noted that this rearward section of housing member 18 is of smaller cross section than the forward section of the housing and that a rearwardly sloping transition section between the two cross sections is located rightwardly of the handle 26 as is shown at 28 and 30.

The inner housing section 20 is of generally rectangularcross section and is coaxially and slidably mounted within housing section 18. This inner housing section has a top wall 38 disposed against top wall 22 of the outer housing, sidewalls 40 which are disposed against the sides 24 of the outer housing, and a bottom wall 42. The sidewalls 40 project below the sidewalls 24 and the bottom wall 42 is disposed beneath the forward end of the housing 18. Adjacent to its righthand end as viewed in FIGURES 1 and 5, the inner housing 20 has a depending handle portion 44 which is received between the sides of the handle 26 of the outer housing. As explained more fully below, the inner housing is adapted to be moved rightwardly as viewed in the drawings, when the handles are squeezed by the operator.

A rectangular frame member, generally indicated at 46, is slidably mounted within the rectangular cross section of the inner housing member 20 and extends from the lefthand end of these two housing members past the inner housing 20 and for a slight distance past the righthand end of the outer housing 18. A channel-shaped projection 58 extends leftwardly from the lefthand end of the housing members 18, 20 towards the frontal end of the tool.

The portion of the frame 46 which is received within the two housing members 18, 20 has a top wall 48, sidewalls 50, and a bottom wall 52, these walls being disposed against the top wall 38, the sidewalls 40, and the bottom wall 42 of the inner housing member 20. The righthand end portion of the frame member 46 is slidably received in the reduced cross sectional portion 32, 34 of the outer frame member 18 as is shown in FIGURE 5. The external dimensions of the frame member are such that it is slidable with respect to the inner frame member 20 and the outer frame member 18 as is evident from an inspection of FIGURES and 6.

A lance 54 is struckupwardly from the top wall 48 of the frame 46 to provide a forwardly facing stop for engagement with the righthand end of the top wall 38 of the inner housing member as indicated at 53. By virtue of this lance, when the inner housing member 20 is moved rightwardly from the position of FIGURE 5 to the position of FIGURE 6, the housing member 20 pushes the frame member 46 rightwardly-with respect to the outer housing 18.

A pair of lances 56 are struck inwardly from the sidewalls 24 of outer housing 18 adjacent to and forwardly of the, transition section 28, of this housing. These lances provide forwardly facing shoulders 57 which are engageable with the righthand ends of the sidewalls of the inner housing 20 thereby to limit the extent of rightward movement of the inner housing with respect to the outer housing. I

The channel-shaped projection 58 on the forward end of frame 46 extends leftward'ly beyond the lefthand ends of the two housing sections 18, 20 and has a top wall 60 from which sidewalls 62 depend. A block 64 (FIG- URES 2, 11 and 12) is mounted between the sidewalls 62 by means of pins 68 and has a depending flange 66 at its righthand end which is received between the forward ends of thesidewalls 50 of the frame member. An axially extending groove 70 is provided on the upper side of the block 64 and a channel shaped plunger or clip pusher 72 is slidably received in this channel. The block 64 thus functions as a guide block for the clip pusher. This clip pusher has depending sidewalls 73 with inwardly extending edges 74, the orientation of the plunger or clip pusher in the groove 70 being such that these inwardly edges are disposed against the bottom of the groove. The internal cross section of the clip pusher conforms to the external cross section of the individual clips and the internal spacing between the sidewalls 73 is such that the clips can be moved relatively within the clip pusher or plunger with inwardly directed ends 74 of the sidewalls of the pusher supporting the inwardly turned edges 8 of the strip of clips as is shown in FIG- URE 11. A feed finger 76 is provided adjacent to the leading end of the clip pusher 72 and projects downwardly between the sidewalls 73 so that the leading end of this feed finger will lodge behind the rearwardly facing surface of the insulation support of the leading clip in the strip. This feed finger is integral with a plate 78 secured in a recess on the upper side of the plunger as is shown best in FIGURE 13.

The feeding of the strip of clips contained within the channel-shaped clip pusher is controlled by means of a pair of stops 80', 82 mounted in recesses in block member 64. The stop 80 (FIGURES 2 and 12) is of circular cross section and is slidably contained in a cylindrical opening 84 extending downwardly into the block 64. A spring 86 normally biases the stop 80 upwardly but permits downward movement as is described below. The stop 80 has a projection on its upper end which normally extends beyond the path of movement of the strip of clips, thisv projection having a rightwardly facing stop surface 114 and a forwardly facing sloping surface 112. The stop 80 is moved downwardly from the position of FIG- URE 2 until it is disengaged from the leading terminal of the strip during an initial portion of each operating cycle by means of a lever 88 which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends at 92 within an axially extending groove 90 beneath the groove 70. The lefthand end of this lever extends into a slightly oversized opening in the stop 80 so that upon counterclockwise movement of the lever about its pivotal axis 92, the stop is lowered to release the strip for feeding motion. This motion of the lever 88 is effected by means of a pin 108 which extends between, and has its ends secured to, a pair of forwardly projecting ears on the sides 24 of the housing member 18. When the frame 46 is moved relatively rightwardly, from the position of FIGURE 2 the pin 108 engages a sloping cam surface 106 on the lower end of 8. depending flange 104 on the righthand end of the lever 88 forcing this righthand end of the lever upwardly as viewed in FIGURE 2 and causing the lefthand end of the lever and the stop 80 to be moved downwardly against the biasing force of the spring 86.

An enlarged opening 96 extends transversely through the block 64 between the stop 80 and the pivotal axis 92 of the lever 88. The lever has an enlarged section 94 disposed in this opening and stop 82 is mounted in a downwardly extending hole in the enlarged section of the lever. Advantageously, a lost motion key and keyway connection 100' is provided between the stop 82 and the lever although the stop 82 itself is free to move relative to the lever and is biased upwardly as viewed in FIG- URE 2 by means of a spring 87. On its upper end the stop 82 has a leftwardly facing stop surface 118 which extends normally of the path of movement of the strip of clips and a sloping rightwardly facing surface 116. The pointed upper end of this stop is adapted to lodge between the leading terminal clip of the strip and the next adjacent terminal and to prevent rightward movement of the strip from the position shown in FIGURE 2. It will be apparent that insofar as the stop 82 is concerned, the strip of terminal clips can be fed leftwardly since the clip which is next adjacent to the leading clip will push against the sloping surface 116 and will bias this stop downwardly against the biasing force of the spring 87. The stop 80, however, must be lowered before the strip can be fed leftwardly.

A mandrel block 120 is mounted between the sidewalls 62 of the projection 58 at its lefthand end by means of a fastener 122 and a locating pin 123. On its upper side this mandrel bar has a T-shaped projection Which conforms to the internal cross section of the individual clips of the strip. Intermediate the ends of the mandrel bar, an opening 124 extends downwardly as viewed in the drawings through this T-shaped projection and into the block for reception of the end of a wire, this opening 124 in the mandrel block being normally in alignment with an opening 126 in the top surface 60 of the projecof the metallic core of the wire from the end section of insulation as is described fully in the application Serial Number 171,074. The top portion of projection 130 does not extend to the end of the mandrel but ends as shown at 134 to provide a shoulder against which the upper end of the terminal post is positioned when the tool is used. It will also be noted from FIGURE 2 that the mandrel extends rightwardly over the lefthand end of the block 64 so that the leading clip can be pushed past the stop 80 and onto the T-shaped projection on the righthand side of the mandrel before it is moved against the wire disposed in the opening 124.

Advantageously, a pair of resilient gripping fingers 140 are riveted to each side of the mandrelblock and contained between thesides of the block and the sidewalls 62 of the frame. These fingers have inwardly curved end portions 141 which are adapted to engage the sides of the terminal post and to hold it in centered relationship .with respect to the T-shaped projection 130 of the mandrel.

The plunger or clip pusher 72 extends rightwardly from the block 64 through the frame member 46 to the rearward end of the tool. The righthand end of this clip pusher extends into a groove 143 in a block 144 and is secured to this block by means of set screws 142. Block 144 is contained between the sides 50' of the frame and is held in position by means of screws 146 which extend through the sidewalls 34- of the outer housing, through elongated slots 148 in the frame member, and are threaded into the block itself. A helical spring 150 is interposed between the forwardly facing surface of the block 144 and the rearwardly facing surface of the block 64.

Since the disclosed embodiment of the tool is adapted to use relatively short lengths of strip, it is advantageous to provide a storage means in the tool for holding several lengths of strip. Accordingly, a storage rack 152 is provided within the frame 46 beneaththe block 144 and extends forwardly to the face of the block 64. Since each strip of clips must be pushed leftwardly into the lefthand end of the channel-shaped clip pusher until the leading clip is positioned between the two stops 80, 82, a ramrod 156 is provided which is integral with a cappiece 154 on the righthand end of the frame. This ramrod is used when a strip of clips is loaded in the clip pusher to push the strip up to the leading end of the pusher. The ramrod extends through an opening in the block 144 and partially into the helical sping 150 as shown in FIGURES 6- and 9. I

In use, the parts will normally be in the positions of FIGURES 1, -2, 5, 8 at the beginning of the operating cycle. The leading terminal clip of the strip will be lodged between the rightwardly facing surface 114 of the stop 80 and the leftwardly facing surface 118 of the stop 82 so that the strip will be prevented from moving relative to the plunger or push rod. The operator first inserts the end of an insulated wire through the opening 126 and into the opening 124 in the mandrel block and squeezes the two handle portions 26, 24. This squeeze of the handles results in partial compression of the spring 150 of the tool and causes the inner housing section 20 to move rightwardly relative to the outer housing section 26. Since the right-hand end of the inner housing section 20 is in engagement with the lance 54 of the frame member, the frame member will also be moved rightwardly until it projects from the right-hand end of the outer housing 6 as shown in FIGURE 6. During relative movement of the frame member and the inner housing from the positions of FIGURES 2 and 5 to the positions of FIGURES 3 and 6, the feed finger 76 of the-clip pusher will move into engagement with the insulation support of the leading clip of the strip and tend to move the entire strip of clips leftwardly. Substantially simultaneously with engagement of the feed finger with the leading clip, the pin 108 will be moved against the camming surface 106 causing the lever 88 to be rocked in a counterclockwise direction about its pivotal axis 92 thereby to lower the stop and to permit the leading clip to move past the rightwardly facing stop surface 114. The next adjacent clip will move past the sloping surface 116 of the stop 82 and bias this stop downwardly.

, During squeezing of the handles 26, 44 and after the pin 108 has moved past the cam surface 106 of thelever 88, the lever will be biased towards its normal position under the influence of the spring 86 and the upper end of the stop 80 will be resiliently urged against the underside of the next adjacent clip of the strip. After the first clip moves entirely past the plane of the surface 114, the stop 80 will be urged further upwardly by the spring 86 and the apex defined by the sides 112, 114 will lodge between the leading clip of the strip and the next adjacent clip. When the parts reach this position, it will be apparent that the next adjacent clip (the second clip in the strip) can not be moved leftwardly past the stop surface 114 although the plunger or clip pusher will continue to move leftwardly. The tensile stress imposed on the leading clip then causes fracture in the neck portion of the strip between the leading clip and the next adjacent clip. Fracture will take place in this neck portion between adjacent clips for the reason that the strip is inherently weakest in this area of reduced cross section.

As the operator continues squeezing of the handles the clip is moved onto the mandrel prtion 136, and past the opening 124. The leading end of the clip then forces the wire in this opening against the edges of the mandrel on each side of the groove 132 so that the insulation is severed and the clip drags the end portion of the conducting core of the wire out of the opening 124. At the conclusion of the operation of squeezing the handles, the partswill be in the position of FIGURES 3 and 6 with the leading clip disposed on the T-shaped projection on the mandrel and on the lefthand side of the opening 124. At this time, the right-hand ends of the sidewalls 40 of the inner housing 20 will have been brought against the forwardly facing shoulders of the lances 56 on the sidewalls 24 of outer housing 18 to prevent further rightward movement of the inner housing with respect to the outer housing. The operator, while retaining his grip on the two handles 26, 44, then positions the tool on a terminal post with the upper end of the terminal post disposed between the spring fingers 141 and against the shoulder 134. He then pushes the tool downwardly against the terminal post causing the inner and outer housings 18, 20, the block 144, and the clip pusher 72 to move leftwardly with respect to the frame member 46, the mandreLand the block 64. During such movement of the two housing members and the clip pusher, the spring is further compressed between the block 144 and the block 64. During this interval, the clip pusher pushes the leading clip over the leading end portion of the mandrel and onto the terminal post and the clip, in turn, drags the wire over the mandrel and onto the post. The tool can then be removed from the post and the operator can release his grip on the handles after which the parts automatically return to the positions of FIG- URES 2 and 5 under the influence of the spring 150.

A salient advantage of the invention is that an extreme 1y simple feeding mechanism is achieved in that the clip pusher functions to feed the strip of clips, sever the leading clip of the strip from the remainder of the strip and push this severed leading clip past the wire and onto the terminal post. 'The invention thus avoids the necessity for separate clip feeding and severing devices as have been common in prior art apparatus for forming clip type electrical connections. While the invention has herein been disclosed in an embodiment comprising a manually actuated hand tool, it will be apparent that the principles of pushing the leading terminal clip by means of the clip pusher and severing the leading clip by fracturing. can be used in pneumatic or other power actuated tools or applicators of the general type disclosed in application Serial Number 171,074. For example, where it is desired to adapt the principles of the invention to 'a pneumatically actuated hand tool, the plunger or clip pusher need only be mounted on and actuated by the piston rod of a pistoncylinder with a camming device, responsive to the movement of the piston rod being provided for rocking the lever 88.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. going description and accompanying drawings is offered by Way of illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective against the prior art.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for connecting electrical conductors to terminal posts by means of open-sided terminal clips, said clips being in end-to-end strip form, each clip being adapted to embrace a post and to hold a conductor against the surface thereof, said apparatus comprising: guide means for guiding said strip of clips along a predetermined path, a feed track in alignment with said guide means, clip pushing means movable along a path extending parallel to said feed track and over said guide means, means on said clip pushing means for engaging the leading clip of said strip thereby to push said strip of clips along said feed path, and stop means engageable with the terminal clip in said strip which is next adjacent to said leading terminal clip after said strip has been moved by said pushing means a distance equal to length of a single terminal clip, said stop means being effective to prevent movement of said strip of clips in the strip feeding direction whereby, upon further movement of said pushing means after engagement of said stop means with said next adjacent clip, said leading clip is broken away from said next adjacent clip and pushed onto said terminal post.

2. Apparatus for connecting an electrical conductor to a terminal .post by means of an open-sided terminal clip, said clip being adapted to embrace said post and to hold said conductor against the surface thereof, said apparatus comprising: a guide for supporting said clip, a feed track in alignment with said guide clip pushing means movable over said feed track and over said guide means, said pushing means being adapted to straddle a strip of clips on said feed track, means on said pushing means for engaging the leading clip of said strip thereby to push said strip of clips over said guide means and onto said terminal post, and stop means engageable with the terminal clip which is next adjacent to the leading terminal clip of said strip, said stop means being effective to prevent movement of said strip of clips in the strip feeding direction whereby, said leading terminal clip is broken away from said strip and pushed over said guide means and onto said post in dependently of said strip.

3. Apparatus for connecting an electrical conductor to a terminal post by means of an open-sided terminal clip, said clip being adapted to embrace said post and to hold said conductor against the surface thereof, said apparatus comprising: a guide for supporting said clip, a feed track in alignment with said guide means for guiding a strip of end-to-end connected clips to said guide means, a clip pusher movable along. said feed track and over said guide means in straddling relationship to a strip of clips on said feed track, means on said clip pusher for The matter set forth in the foreengaging the-leading clip of said strip whereby said strip is pushed along said feed track, and detent stop means engageable with the clip which is next adjacent to said leading clip after said strip has moved a distance equal to the length of a single clip, said detent stop means being effective to prevent movement of said strip in the strip feeding direction, whereby, upon movement of said clip pusher along said feed track and over said guide means, said strip is fed a distance substantially equal to the length of a single clip and said detent means engages said next adjacent clip, and said clip pusher thereafter continues to push said leading clip to break away said leading clip from said strip and to move said leading clip independently over said guide means and onto said post.

4. Apparatus for connecting an electrical conductor to a terminal post by means of an open-sided terminal clip, said clip being adapted to embrace said .post and to hold said conductor against a surface thereof, said apparatus comprising: a guide mandrel adapted to support said clip, a feed track in alignment with said mandrel for guiding a strip of end-to-end connected clips to said mandrel, a clip pusher movable along said feed track and over said mandrel in straddling relationship to a strip of clips on said feed track, means on said clip pusher for engaging the leading clip on said strip whereby said strip is pushed along said feed track, stop means normally in engagement with said leading clip for preventing forward movement of said strip, and means for disengaging said step means from said leading clip during initial movement of said clip pusher and for engaging said stop means with the next adjacent clip in said strip when said next adjacent clip reaches said stop means whereby, said leading clip is broken away from said strip after said strip has moved a distance equal to a single clip, and said leading clip is thereafter moved over said mandrel and onto a terminal post.

5. Apparatus for connecting electrical conductors to terminal posts by means of open-sided clips, said clips being in end-to-end connected strip form and being adapted to hold an electrical conductor against an individual terminal post, said apparatus comprising: means for pushing a strip of said clips axially along a predetermined feed path and towards a terminal post, a first stop means normally in engagement with the leading clip of said strip, said stop means being effective to prevent movement of said strip in the strip feeding direction means for dis-engaging said first stop means from said leading clip upon initial movement of said strip, means for engaging said first stop means with the next adjacent clip of said strip after said strip has been fed a distance substantially equal to the length of a single clip, and a second stop means engageable with said strip and per mitting movement of said strip in a feeding direction while preventing retractile movement of said strip whereby, upon feeding of said strip along said feed path, said leading clip is broken away from said strip after said strip has been moved a distance equal to a single clip, and said strip of clips is prevented from further feeding movement While said leading clip is pushed along said path and onto a terminal post.

' 6. Apparatus for connecting an electrical conductor to a terminal post by means of an open-sided terminal clip, said clip being adapted to embrace said post and to hold said conductor against the surface thereof, said apparatus comprising: a guide mandrel having a cross section substantially conforming to the internal cross section of said clip, a guide block in alignment with said mandrel, a clip pusher movable through said guide block and over said mandrel, said clip pusher having an axial groove on its side which moves over said mandrel for reception of a strip of end-to-end connected clips, means on the leading end of said clip pusher for engagement with the leading clip of said strip whereby upon movement of said clip pusher, said leading clip is pushed through said block and over saidmandrel, a first stop in said block, said first stop being resiliently biased into engagement with the leading clip of said strip and being efiective to prevent movement of said strip in the strip feeding direction clip pusher moving means for moving said clip pusher through said guide means and over said mandrel, and

stop disengaging means responsive to initial movement of said clip pusher moving means for disengaging said first stop means from said leading clip of said strip and permitting engagement of said first stop means with the next adjacent clip of said strip when said next adjacent clip moves up to said first stop means whereby, said leading clip is broken from said strip and pushed over said mandrel and onto said post independently of said strip.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 including a second stop means disposed rearwardly, relative to the direction of strip feed, of said first stop means, said second stop means being resiliently biased into engagement with said strip and permitting feeding movement thereof while preventing retractile movement of said strip.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said stop disengaging means-comprises a lever pivoted intermediate its ends in said guide block, one end of said lever being secured to said first stop and the other end of said lever being engageable by said clip pusher moving means thereby to rock said lever about its pivotal axis and disengage said stop from said strip.

9. A device for connecting electrical conductors to a terminal post by means of terminal clips, said clips having an open seam extending axially along one side thereof and being in end-to-end strip form, said apparatus comprising, a housing, clip moving means in said housing for moving said strip of clips along a predetermined path, said clip moving means being engageable with the leading clip of said strip, stop means on said path engageable with said strip of clips for preventing movement of said strip in the direction of clip feed, said stop means being normally in engagement with said leading clip of said strip, and means for disengaging said stop means from said leading clip during initial movement of said strip and for engaging said stop means with the next adjacent clip of said strip whereby, said leading clip is broken away from said strip and is moved along said path, past a transversely extending conductor, and onto a terminal post to connect said conductor to said post.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,152,390 10/1964 Floyd 29-203 3,186,078 6/1965 Cobaugh 29203 JOHN F. CAMPBELL, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR CONNECTING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS TO TERMINAL POSTS BY MEANS OF OPEN-SIDED TERMINAL CLIPS, SAID CLIPS BEING IN END-TO-END STRIP FORM, EACH CLIP BEING ADAPTED TO EMBRACE A POST AND TO HOLD A CONDUCTOR AGAINST THE SURFACE THEREOF, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING: GUIDE MEANS FOR GUIDING SAID STRIP OF CLIPS ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH, A FEED TRACK IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID GUIDE MEANS, CLIP PUSHING MEANS MOVABLE ALONG A PATH EXTENDING PARALLEL TO SAID FEED TRACK AND OVER SAID GUIDE MEANS, MEANS ON SAID CLIP PUSHING MEANS FOR ENGAGING THE LEADING CLIP OF SAID STRIP THEREBY TO PUSH SAID STRIP OF CLIPS ALONG SAID FEED PATH, AND STOP MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH THE TERMINAL CLIP IN SAID STRIP WHICH IS NEXT ADJACENT TO SAID LEADING TERMINAL CLIP AFTER SAID STRIP HAS BEEN MOVED BY SAID PUSHING MEANS A DISTANCE EQUAL TO LENGTH OF A SINGLE TERMINAL CLIP, SAID STOP MEANS BEING EFFECTIVE TO PREVENT MOVEMENT OF SAID STRIP OF CLIPS IN THE STRIP FEEDING DIRECTION WHEREBY, UPON FURTHER MOVEMENT OF SAID PUSHING MEANS AFTER ENGAGEMENT OF SAID STOP MEANS WITH SAID NEXT ADJACENT CLIP, SAID LEADING CLIP IS BROKEN AWAY FROM SAID NEXT ADJACENT CLIP AND PUSHED ONTO SAID TERMINAL POST. 